AUBURN, Alabama -- The first time Auburn played Alabama this season, the Tigers bounced back from their worst offensive half of the year and rode a tidal wave of momentum to a win at Auburn Arena.

That ability to bounce back is what has been missing in the other 11 games of Auburn's recent skid, a trait that hasn't really shown up since the Tigers weathered an early storm of 3-pointers to force double-overtime at Arkansas on Jan. 16.

Now, as the Tigers prepare to travel to Alabama for a 6 p.m. rematch in the Iron Bowl of basketball, regaining that ability to weather an blow and bounce back becomes even more important.

Mired in its worst stretch since the 1988-89 season, Auburn (9-18, 3-11) desperately needs to put an entire game together.

"We're getting off to fairly decent starts, then something happens during the course of a game where it seems like we fall apart -- for whatever reason," Auburn coach Tony Barbee said. "We'll stop defending, we'll stop executing, easy shots, layups, free throws, post-ups, jumpers, wide open and don't go down. Then we let that adversity spill into the next thing."

Barbee has been pleased with the play of some of his newcomers -- Shaq Johnson had a career-high 18 points and added four rebounds against Ole Miss -- but the inconsistency from Auburn's veterans has frustrated both coach and players alike.

At times, that frustration has led to benchings for veteran players. Chris Denson became the latest victim on Saturday against Ole Miss, a game where the junior played just three minutes because of a lack of defensive effort.

For the players who have been with Barbee for the past three years, the harsh trigger has not been surprising.

"He's been coaching the same, a tough, gritty coach, he just wants to win," Tigers senior Frankie Sullivan said. "It's frustrating for everybody, us not winning ballgames. He hasn't changed his coaching style."

After Saturday's loss to Ole Miss, Barbee indicated that the Tigers' coaching staff will continue to change the rotation based on day-to-day effort in practices and games.

Lately, that has meant more minutes for Auburn's younger players, partially because the Tigers' coaching staff is trying to get more out of the players who'll be back next season.

"With these young guys -- all the guys who are returning, we're talking to them about the culture of what this is about," Barbee said. "Whether you win or lose, it's about how hard you compete and how hard you fight. You have to go that together. That's what I want to see from the guys who will be returning."

Before Auburn's skid got out of control, the playing rotation was skewed to the veterans. Freshmen Jordon Granger and Brian Greene Jr., in particular, saw few minutes at times.

Now, that's not the case. As Johnson has proved over the past five games -- he's averaging 10.5 points and 4.3 rebounds -- Barbee will stick with the younger players if they're producing. Greene Jr. had eight points on Saturday.

"I’m just happy with the opportunity I have to get on the floor," Greene Jr. said. "I’m a freshman in the SEC so coming in I knew it was going to be tough and I knew it was going to be a lot of up and downs in my freshman year."

The move to the future -- Barbee has now said twice that the coaching staff is focused on getting the young guys ready for next year, although he also wants the seniors to go out with their heads held high -- makes sense, even to Sullivan, a senior who is entering the final few weeks of his career.

"The only thing you can do is just win these last four games, hopefully get on a roll in SEC," Sullivan said. "It hasn't been what we wanted it to be, so just helping them develop, just keep a strong mindset."

For more news, notes and live game updates on Auburn basketball, follow the Tigers on Twitter:Follow @JoelAEricksonAU